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Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Mining in Liberia

Liberia is a country in West Africa bordered by Sierra Leone to the west, Guinea north and Ivory Coast to the east. It is home to about 4 million people.

In 1980 a military coup marked the beginning of political and economic instability and two successive civil wars. This resulted in the deaths of between 250,000 and 520,000 people and devastated the country's economy. A peace agreement in 2003 led to democratic elections in 2005.

Liberia is rich in natural resources, notably iron ore, diamonds, gold, timber and rubber. All of these sectors suffered dramatically during the civil war.

During the 14 years of war, all major mines were closed and the mineral sector’s contribution to the economy was negligible. In 2010 Liberia made progress in reviving the mining sector, which before 1990 had contributed more than 65% of the country’s export earnings and represented about 25% of the country’s gross domestic product. In 2010, the contribution of the mining sector to GDP was 0.9%

Africa’s only female president, Madame Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was re-elected in 2012 for a second term of five years. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in the same year. Since the end of the civil war, Liberia has experienced a period of reform and reconstruction.

The IMF reported real GDP increased by 8.8% in 2013 under President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.

It was recently announced that eight countries, including Liberia, had GDP per capita of less than $1,000 per year.